Surface modification of poly (ether-ether-ketone)

The poly (ether ether ketone) - (PEEK) is known as an alternative biomaterial to replace the well-known successful implantable metallic materials. However, the main issue for PEEK as a biomedical implant it is biologically inert, preventing a good interaction between the implant and the surrounding bone tissue. One way to overcome the inert character of PEEK is the physical surface modification through the particle leaching method. In this way, this article has as goal to develop and to characterize PEEK structures which have modified surface. To prepare these structures it was used a deposition technique where a layer of NaCl is deposited over the polymer. The material was subjected to the load of 6 tons and heat treatment at 390 degrees C in three different times. After cooling at room temperature, the samples were leached by NaCI particles process. Then, the structures were examined by optical microscopy, straightness and FTIR. According to analysis, increasing the heat treatment time results in a better polymer melting which leads better rough surfaces. The surfaces, in general, have better form, better maintaining and better depth recesses. However, increasing the heat treatment time produced a lower leaching effectiveness. In straightness test result, the sample showed less roughness was the sample with longer heat treatment, possibly due to a greater amount of NaCl retained in its roughened surface. From the observations of the FTIR spectra, samples of PEEK, when compared to the control sample showed a similar behavior, showing no significant change in the profile of the studied materials. Considering the process, the technique developed in this article showed to be effective obtaining PEEK samples morphologically modified by different heat treatment time.